One and Only - a McRoll in the REAL World story
by Mari217
Summary: Steve & Catherine have a family chat with Mary & Aaron
1. Chapter 1

_Sammy and Ilna - love and thanks for being the best!_

_**Sammy, happy, happy early birthday, my awesome partner.  
**__**Love you always for all the friendship and fun you bring to our lives every day.  
**__**Enjoy the week and especially enjoy Saturday! **_

_REAL McRollers and readers - love and hugs. _

* * *

**One and Only**

The Skype call was filled with Joan and Angie's usual exuberance, with the latter being informed exactly how many choices there were in Disney Halloween attire.

"You can even maybe be Mulan, 'cause she's a soldier and really brave and strong, and she saves her daddy and like the whole town. But nobody has to save Uncle Steve 'cause he's a SEAL and he can save everybody."

Mary nodded at her brother's huge smile and Angie's rapt attention. "Live action Mulan previews have started."

"I saw that on movie night with Jacob," Catherine said. "So you're 'definitely maybe' going to be Merida, Joan?"

"Then Mama and Daddy an' Aunt Deb can be bears and that's so fun! Merida's still your favorite, right, Uncle Steve?"

"Because bow and quiver," Mary coughed out and Aaron laughed.

Steve agreed before adding, "Wait, wait, Aunt Deb is dressing up? As a _bear_?"

"Aunt Deb is wearing a brown shirt and pants with an ear headband," his sister confirmed. "We," she motioned between herself and her grinning husband, "have brown sweats with ears on the hoods."

"Grandma Sue is gonna do makeup so they have bear faces for the school party!" Joan added. "When you go to school, you get a Halloween party, Cousin Angie!"

"Scoo ha'wee paty!" Angie clapped and everyone chuckled. "Yay!"

"Yay!" Catherine repeated and kissed her cheek. "And it's almost bedtime for you, miss. Can you say, 'Night, night?"

"Night night, Cousin Angie!" Joan blew kisses and Angie copied her.

"Actually, it's story time for you, pumpkin," Aaron reminded his daughter. "Mama wants to talk to Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine for a minute so let's go read your new book." He stood, taking her with him and hoisted her over a shoulder, eliciting a cascade of giggles.

As they walked off the screen with a flurry of goodbyes and more blown kisses from a still upside down Joan, Steve focused on his sister's image with a furrowed brow.

At Mary's "Relax, you, it's nothing bad," Catherine saw him unclench his jaw.

It had been a few very stressful days on the Fairiborz case. When the team got news that the shipment, due to arrive in port Friday, had been delayed, they immediately worried that their investigation had been compromised. That Frank Kaewa had tipped Fairiborz off and the operation had been scrapped. As it turned out, the freighter involved in transporting the goods had suffered an engine failure and pulled into the port of Osaka in Japan for maintenance. Steve's calls to his contacts on the ground there revealed that there actually was engine work being done on the vessel and that there were no plans to offload any cargo. Local law enforcement had agreed to do surveillance as long as the ship was in port but by all appearances it was just a glitch and the plan would proceed on Oahu as soon as the ship was once again underway.

She placed a hand on Steve's thigh and said, "What's up, Mary?"

Mary adjusted the monitor and smiled. "I wanted to let you in on a discussion Aaron and I had last night."

Catherine shared a quick glance with Steve before they turned their attention back to Mary. She was relaxed and smiling, so she wasn't concerned it was anything other than a bit of family news or perhaps something about her sister in law's job or classes. She placed Angie's Cheerios container on her lap to occupy her and faced the tablet.

"Well we sort of confirmed a decision we've already been living, I guess."

* * *

_**Previous night McGarrett-Reyes' living room**_

"_Done!" Mary closed the laptop and raised both arms in triumph as Aaron picked up a stray puzzle piece and tiara and placed them on the coffee table. _

"_Submitted?" He plopped down next to her and gave her knee a gentle squeeze. _

"_All thirty three pages on The Historical Origins of Social Work. Is she asleep?"_

"_Out like a light. She called Mom to discuss bear makeup for us before her story. If you heard laughter from across the city, it was Dad."_

"_He's adorable, but I may have to remind him of his robot costume in the photo I saw when you were eleven." She smiled, then turned to face him fully. "You know, now that Steve and Catherine have been officially approved for adoption and with our new niece or nephew being on the horizon, I was thinking … I'm so happy with you and Joan, I love our family."_

_Aaron nodded, but let her finish._

"_I know some people feel a … a need, I guess, for a biological child. I'm really content with the way things are and I just want to be sure …"_

_Aaron shook his head and took her hand. "Mary, Joan is _mine_. _Ours_. I love you for confirming that but," he used a finger to brush her cheek, "I love you both beyond words. And I am one hundred percent sure she's everything I'll ever need in a child. Besides, this is me. I couldn't love my folks and 'Lyssa more if we were genetically related. And they never for one instant made me feel they felt anything other than the same exact way."_

_Mary's eyes welled. She was almost afraid to say it out loud. How happy she was. How she never thought she'd actually _be _happy. Settled. And she'd wanted more than anything to be sure Aaron was, too. "Good. Because we're not getting any younger, you know. And Joan's six. I figured it was best to discuss it because if we were going to try for a biological child …" She gave her husband a teary smile. "Hey look at me being all emotionally healthy." She chuckled. "A lot of that's thanks to you, too."_

_He pecked her lips. "Thank you, but most of that is you. You rising above your childhood. You being open to our relationship, and you…" he kissed her cheek this time, "being a wonderful mom."_

"_Thanks," Mary squeaked out with a sniff, then cleared her throat. "Joan's never asked for a sibling either, so I think she's content. All I want is for her to feel safe and confident and be sure of us being here for her. The huge extended family we've given her is more than I dreamed of."_

"_She's beyond happy," he agreed, knowing Mary's joy at their extended family came from her feeling abandoned in the past. "And growing up with Avery, Angie, whatever child Steve and Catherine adopt, and all the Allen kids as cousins will be incredible for her." The unbidden smile that always graced his features when discussing Joan broadened. "Our daughter is a beautiful, confident, force of nature and not every kid needs a sibling, Mare. Look at Catherine." He shrugged. "We should be so lucky that we're as close to Joan as Catherine, Joseph and Elizabeth are when she's an adult." His smile turned playful. "And for the record, if Joan moves to … Tanzania, I'm willing to relocate…" At Mary's giggle he continued, "Not immediately, of course, just to help out with our grandkids."_

"_Just for the grandkids, huh?"_

"_If she wants kids. If not, we'll help with her dog. Or cat. Or pygmy goat. I don't want to be one of those clingy dads." He punctuated the statement with a nod._

"_That's your story, hmm?"_

"_And I'm sticking to it." He couldn't hold back a laugh, then sobered. "Mary, seriously. Having Joan as our one and only is all I need. And besides …" He took her hand and squeezed. "Joan gives us enough love for ten kids."_

_Mary squeezed his fingers in return, her eyes going to the framed photo of the family at their wedding. "Yeah, she does." _

* * *

**Present**

"... and so your niece is gonna stay an only child," Mary finished.

"Awww, you guys." Catherine shook her head. "Mom and Dad would be as honored you mentioned us as I am."

"Good, because I plan on telling them." Mary smiled softly. "They're my next call. I told them I wanted to discuss something once we called you before Angie's bedtime."

Steve smiled. He knew exactly how much his in-laws' influence had positively affected his sister and how much she admired and loved Catherine. "They'll love that. And for the record, Joanie is definitely a force of nature. I can totally see her graduating top ten from the academy."

Mary laughed out loud and Angie giggled from her perch on Catherine's lap. "And there it is. You never disappoint, big brother. Night night, Angie." She waved. "Love you all, I'm off to make that call."

_**# Thanks for reading… stay tuned Monday for part 2**_


	2. Chapter 2

AN's in part one

* * *

**One and Only part 2/2**

"... and so we sort of made it official," Mary said with a tiny shrug as Elizabeth listened via Skype. "I mean if we were going to have another kid, we'd probably have done it by now, but I just wanted to make sure Aaron was as … content, I guess, as I am with things the way they are."

"And he is." Elizabeth smiled knowingly at the young woman she'd watched come so far from the girl she'd met years before and who continued to become stronger and more confident with each passing day. She had clearly found her soulmate in Aaron. Elizabeth had had the pleasure of also getting to know him very well since Mary introduced them and there was no doubt in her mind he was settled and happy.

"He is," Mary confirmed and smiled. "You guys came up, you know."

"How so, honey?" Elizabeth's head tilt was reminiscent of her daughter's and Mary nodded.

"I mentioned how Joan never asked for a sibling and Aaron said, 'Not every child needs one, look at Catherine.' " Mary grinned. "And there's no argument there, she's pretty much the awesomest person ever."

"That's very sweet." Elizabeth's smile was genuine and immediate. "I'm a wee bit biased, but she is pretty awesome."

"Who's awesome?" Joseph's voice preceded him into the Skype frame as he unhooked Smokey's leash and pecked his wife's cheek. "Hi, sweetheart." He waved to Mary. "Is this a ladies only chat or can an old sailor join in?"

"Of course," Mary said and Elizabeth patted the kitchen stool next to her. "Mary was just telling me about her and Aaron's decision." She nodded at the screen.

"Decision?" Joseph took a seat next to his wife.

"I was telling Elizabeth how it seemed we sort of decided without officially deciding that our family is complete. So last night I brought it up, just to make a hundred percent sure Aaron and I are on the same page. Joan's happy, we're happy, so like you guys, we're going to be a family of three."

"And Aaron mentioned how Catherine did beautifully as an only child, and that's when you walked in." Elizabeth shared a grin with Mary.

"So it was our wonderful daughter Mary was calling awesome?" He patted her hand where it rested on the counter.

"What I was saying was she's the awesomest person I know. I can't think of anyone less selfish or more inclusive, and she's been putting up with my brother for over twenty years …" An impish grin appeared on Mary's face. "I may need to put that on a t-shirt for her." She giggled. "Anyway, we also talked about how close you all are, even with the years of travelling and at sea. I want that for Joan. For _us_." Her blue eyes sparkled. "We may need some tips for the teen years."

"Oh, sweetie, that's … thank you." Elizabeth smiled. "You're already on that path. Joan adores you both and she knows you support her in everything she does."

"That's the most important thing," Joseph agreed. "Support and unconditional love. Joan has that in spades."

"I hope she always knows that. Aaron's and my childhoods …"

"Made you who you are, honey. Parents who unfortunately know what not having those things mean. Luckily, Joan will always have unconditional love."

Mary sniffed. "Thanks in a big part to Catherine, she'll always have our whole family in addition to Aaron's." She shook her head, then tucked her hair behind an ear. "I sometimes can't believe we … me and Steve … ended up like we did. Thanks for adopting me into the family when you did."

"Being your family is one of our greatest joys. Never doubt that," Elizabeth told her. "You deserve to be happy, both you and Steve. We couldn't be more thrilled you and Aaron admire our relationship with Catherine, and I have no doubt that beautiful, gregarious, loving little girl will be as proud of you when she grows up as you are of her."

"That's exactly right," Joseph concurred. "And she's going to be an incredible adult, because she's already an amazing person." He punctuated the statement with a nod. "Who couldn't love Joan?"

"Loved her the minute we met." Aaron's smiling face joined Mary's. "Did I hear you discussing my favorite topic?"

"Absolutely," Joseph said. "Were you tucking her in?"

Aaron shook his head. "No, she's been asleep. I ran out for milk, we had a spill at dinner." A grin crossed his face. "Mary told you we talked?"

"She did, and thank you," Elizabeth said. "Every family finds what's right for them, and it's wonderful you're in agreement."

"I'm absolutely in agreement, our family size works for us." He sat and kissed Mary's temple. "And family's about love, not biology. No one gets that better than I do." He grinned.

"I told Elizabeth and Joseph we may need extra tips for when Joan's a teenager," his wife teased. "Especially if she takes after Steve - she'll be talking him into one of those helo jump things."

Joseph chuckled. "HALO, honey, and don't you worry, we have your back."

"One hundred percent," Elizabeth echoed. "That's what family's for."

_# End. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

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